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Supplementary to what appears in the annual address relative to 
the battle ol" Frar.klin the following is furnished, viz. : 

Lieut. Lawrence, Company C, in his account of experiences early 
in 1863, sets forth as follows as to developments at Atlanta. Ga., 
where union officers were confined in a lodge room in third storj' of a 
large brick building : 

"Confederate officers were fi-equeut visitors. Their talk was largely 
devoted to the pi-ojeet of I'onning a Northwestern Confederacy. It 
was argued by them that the people of the northwestern States and 
those of the wouth were natural allies ; that the Mississippi was the 
natural and should be the free highway for these two sections of the 
O country. These views, however, niet no favor among the prisonei'8. 
Facts have since come to light that show the same views were enter- 
tained by a class in the north, who at that parricular time were note^l 
for disloyalty to the government and who were in close counuuuica- 
tion with the enemy in the south." 

From this it appears there was an agitation started, and kejit 
up for many months, having for its object a reari'angement of boun- 
daries which should include but few. if any. of the original States. 

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New England at least was. to be left out and New York, Pennsylvania 
and New Jersey as well. The "Yankees" and all territory dominated 
by them were to be excluded from the proposed Northwestern LX>o« 
federaey. The southern States and all territory drained by the Mis- 
sissippi and it.s tributaries, deemed to be i)eopled mainly from the 
south, were presumably to be embraced in the new alignment. At auj' 
rate the plan carried out was to accomplish the breaking up of the 
old union. Primarily the movement was meant to weaken the unioji 
armies, prevent enlistments therein and keep the people of the border 
States in a ferment and state of excitement. As a result of this agita- 
tion and reverses, drawn battles and other causes, there came to the 
luuon armies in 18G3 the gloonuest period of the war. The agitation, 
however, and all speculation and currents of thought wei-e in large 
measure subordinated and lost sight of by reason of increased and pro- 
lonj^ed activity in the lield, resulting in the battles of Gettysburg and 
Vicksl)urg, the siege and surrender of the latter place, the Tullahomu- 
Chattanooga campaign, and the battle of Chickamauga. These three 
extraordinary campaigns and engagements afforded not only a fair but 
severe test of the courage, patience, persistence and powers of endur- 
ance of the American soldier and of his "sticking" qualities, whether 
northern or southern. Later on came the siege of Chattanooga, the 
i»attles of Lookout ^luuntain and Missionai-j- Ridge, and the Knoxville 
campaign, scmju to be followed by the carrying out of the perfected 
phms for coinbined operations of all armies east and west in the yea 
1801. Under Grant in the east, the armiet^; of the Potomac and of 
the James fought with great persistence, valor and varying success, 
many hard I)attles, the names of which are prominent in histoi'y, be- 
coming household words. Sherman in (Jeorgia also waged a determined, 
relentless and skillful campaign and warfare, achieving results brilliant 
and decisive, f<urly couiparabU- to those wnmght by (Jrant in the east, 
adding names of many cnnMicts with the enemy that are and will for- 
ever remain memorable, adorning historic pages. 

Late in 1804, in tiuK^ nhort enough, the "shifV' of Hood's army fnmi 
(;tH)rgia to Tennessee was executed. On inner lines, e<iually strcnuoiifi, 
if not ('(pially rapid, nioxements were made by the union force — the 
-ttii .111(1 li.'Jd cori)S — in concenttating to interpose defensive operations 
to jirevent a threatened great disaster to the union cause, which disaster 
if not prevented would have revived hope of realization of the dream 
of a "Northwestern fV-nfederacy." It was claimed, too, this ju"oj)osed 
Northwestern Confederacy iiir>tiil the undoing of the Southern Co!i- 



federacy ; meant seqession from secession as Colonel Jaquess suggested 
to Jefferson D. This brings the statement down to the jx»int 
where Hood exclaimed: "Men, hreak that line, and there is 
NOTHING to withstand you this side of the Ohio River." "That line" 
was broken, but Opdycke's Brigade was at the right place at the right 
time and the gap icas closed, the line restored, and the union force 
was not only enabled to save itself, but with the closing — and keeping 
closed — of that gap was forever blighted and snuffed out the only glim- 
mer of hope there ever was of launching a Northwestern Confederacy. 
By maintenance of that breach in the federal line, the confederates 
expected to secure the surrender of all the union force south of the 
Harpeth River, the capitulation of Nashville, the control of Tennessee 
and Kentucky, including Louisville. 

Opdycke's Brigade was right there "in the nick of time and on the 
very spot where it tvas needed," the breach was repaired and the line 
restored, made stronger than before, by a counter charge, with result 
as already Intimated to the dim and vanishing prospect for a North- 
western Confederacy. IIow nearly confederate success at Franklin 
would have realized that dream is matter of conjecture. The facts 
herein stated, in so far as they relate to the battle of Franklin, and 
the part pei'formed therein by Opdycke's Brigade, are based on personal 
knowledge and observation of the writer. Being at the time com- 
mander of Company C. color bearer and guanls of the T;M regiment, Illi- 
nois, I was in a ix)sition to see and learn sometlilng of what was ac- 
tually accomplished and by whom in the iinmndiatc vicinity of the breach 
that afternoon of November 30. ISW. 

So Lieut. Lawrence, if he had been with his company at the battle 
of Franklin, would have been "right in" at the annihilation of all or 
any prospect there ever was of launching a Northwestern Confederacy, 
as well as being where he heard some of the very earl.v if not the verjt 
first suggestions in rega.rd to it. 

For convenience, I make a few references ; the first to page 4:'.o 
of History 73d Illinois for the purpose of saying that George Hollings- 
worth, of Chrisman, Hi., is the man, who, with a furlough in his i)ocket, 
with his Company C comrades, nobly bore his full share in the perilous 
work of -nending the "hrfach." going home later. The other references 
are as follows, all in chaf)ter six : 

For "Stop that Regiment," see page 444, 73d Illinois. 

For "Opdycke's Testimony," see page 400. 73d Illinois. 

For the "First Brigade Forward," see page 471. 7.3d Illinois. 



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For page euuitled "Yankee Reserve," see page 477, 73d Illinois. 

For page eutitletl "Vivitl Recollections." see page 478, 73d Illinois. 

Kespectfully submitted, WILLIAM H. NE^VLIN, 

First Lieutenant Company C, 73d Illinois. 
I>. R. (iooch, Secretary and Ti-easurer : 

Dear Comrade — I desire to state tbat the 73d Illinois infantrj', 
rallying on its colors at the battle of Franklin, did pre-empt, first oc- 
cupy ground in tbe ''hreacli" made by the enemy in our line of meii. 
The works remained intact and were precisely the essential thing to 
be recoveretl, and Avere recovered l)y Opdycke's Brigade in a coiuiter 
charge. In the very essential initial steps to secure that end the 73d 
Illinois was the important factor, uotwithstiuiding repeated cries to 
"stop that regiment." "Self preservation, the first law of nature," was 
the principle which wrung from the 3(;th, 44th. 73d, 74tb and 88th 
Illinois, ajyi L'4th Wisi-ousin and 125th Ohio regiments that "iiitoiNS 
rneryy,'' snnicient and effectual in blasting all boi)e or itrospect of a 
Northwestern Confederacy. N'eiy ti'uly yours, 

W. H. NEWLIN, 
Historian 73d Illinois. 







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